CottMile Wrap Up & Results

38th Cottesloe Classic Mile – Saturday 8th January

What an exciting and successful day we had for the 38th annual Cottesloe Classic Mile on Saturday. It was only due to the contribution of our sponsors and the team work of more than 50 members that the event was such a success.

The 400m dash for about 50 juniors and novices went off without a hitch, with family and friends cheering on these mostly younger swimmers. This race follows an M-shaped course wholly within the ECO Barrier. Club talent Max Eldon was the clear winner of this event.

Some ten minutes later, the first wave of the 3km race had gone barely 50m from the beach when a shark sighting near North Cottesloe saw the patrol clear swimmers from the water, and the races were put on hold.

By the time the one hour safety window was over and the all clear given, conditions had deteriorated, and many entrants had chosen to leave. The Freo Doctor was blowing at over 15 knots, and the sea was running strongly to the north. The decision was made for safety reasons to cancel the 3km race (which would have first taken swimmers south almost to Pearse St) and instead just run the 1.6km Classic Mile to North Cottesloe and back.

In total, around half of the 600 entrants stayed around and took up the challenge. Importantly, almost all of our Club water safety and first aid team members remained on duty, assisting quite a few participants back to the beach during the race. No major incidents were recorded.

It was great to see two octogenarians and Cottesloe SLSC members, Robert Watkins and Stuart Gray, both complete the course. There were numerous other members who competed.

Although the event was disrupted, and some swimmers weren’t able to compete as they had hoped, the overwhelming feedback was positive in how the Club managed the delay and the changed conditions so well.

Major sponsors for the event were ACTON Cottesloe & Dalkeith, supported by Vidlers Cottesloe, ID Athletic, Marbret International, and Aqualyte. Please return the support if you can. Thanks also to the Rottnest Channel Swim for their support with the loan of equipment.

Finally, thanks go to the key team members who variously ensured that:

·       hundreds of race kits were prepared,

·       registrations went smoothly,

·       beach set-up and pack-down just happened,

·       the race courses were laid accurately,

·       race briefings were provided and races started properly,

·       swimmers safety was monitored throughout,

·       winners were announced and celebrated, and

·       so many swimmer questions (from valid through to ridiculous) were dealt with patiently.

Volunteers are entitled to an event t-shirt, so see Marg Bond if you haven’t got yours yet.

Complete results can be found here: http://www.bluechipresults.com.au/results.aspx?CId=11&RId=1483&EId=4

A gallery of photos can be found on the Club website and at the Cottesloe Classic Mile Facebook page.